Un Noël en cadeau

I enjoy most of the Christmas movies from Hallmark. They are bit like eating marshmallows. Lots of air, and some of them make you feel sick on sweetness, lack of chemistry and some bad acting. But they are still mostly fun and enjoyable each year. Recently I discovered Lifetime had been making some holiday movies as well. I enjoyed this one. It was fun to see different actors, and actors I have not seen for a long time in this movie. Also I liked that is was not a "single parent with a child". Hallmark needs to ditch that trope for a bit. Way too many with that story. Kudos for strong family and strong female leads who were into their careers and not suffering for it. Also I liked that the lead actress likes her job and is ambitious in a normal manner. There were also no "evil" characters. Thank goodness. I did not feel the acting was wooden at all. I was not familiar with the lead actress, Tatyana Ali, and I really liked her in this part. She was very believable.

An "attorney" who hasn't heard of Dickens' A.Christmas Carol??? A shopping mall "leasing manager" who wipes her full of handcream hand on her business suit??? Grandparents who tease their daughter that she can't cook and they bring ..pizza??? In the same scene, they bring pizza because they were worried their granddaughter didn't have anything to eat and, before the girl eats, her parents say it's time for ..bed??? It seems that every house has more than 2-3 Christmas trees ( there is one even in the ..bedroom ). Who in the world wrote this script?

Like Hallmark, and just as much, Lifetime are hit and miss when it comes to their Christmas output. 2017 was not one of the worst examples of this, but it was hardly an exception. Some of their films are charming, easy to like and heart-warming, while others are very cheesy, thinly plotted and too sugary. Tatyana Ali has struck me as a winning actress in what has already been seen of hers, though her filmography isn't as consistent (liked 'Christmas Everlasting', didn't care for 'Jingle Belle').

'Wrapped Up in Christmas' is in the middle of those two and is closer in quality to the former than the latter in my view, while not being as good. It is an uneven film and had room for more improvement, but 'Wrapped Up in Christmas' is a pleasant, inoffensive way to spend a couple of hours providing that not too much is expected. As far as Lifetime's 2017 Christmas films go, it's somewhere in the middle and not one of the best or worst.

Am going to begin with the good. Ali gives another winning performance, it being full of charm, warmth and poignancy and it was refreshing to have a female lead character that was ambitious but handling it in a mature and true to life way which made her relatable. The supporting cast are solid enough in roles that have enough personality while not being exaggerated.

It's not too drab or garish in photography and the scenery is lovely, nothing here looks cheap even when the budget was not expensive and time constraints were probably tight. The script isn't too corny or syrupy, instead having good intentions and emotional impact. The story is different from the usual formulas that were already starting to feel overused and it's heart-warming and doesn't take itself too seriously.

Not everything worked. Brendan Fehr came over as stiff and didn't seem as engaged. His chemistry with Ali never quite ignites, not non-existent but the spark is not there enough and their relationship is not developed or used enough.

Didn't find much memorable about the music and it could have been used less. The worst thing about 'Wrapped Up in Christmas' was the ending, which did not ring true at all, was absurd and too sugary sweet. It also felt too tacked on neat.

Overall, not bad at all and has a good deal to like despite being uneven. 6/10.

I like Ali. Pleasant....Pretty, Does not overact like most, but the guy was badly cast. A career workaholic falling for a plain deadbeat with no job? Please! As if he could get her, lol and im a white guy saying this. I just watched the ending. OMG. What a fake, phoney, absurd, ludicrous, unrealistic sugar sweet ending. UGH,!!!!!. Im changing my vote from a 7 to a 4 for the ending.

I am a fan of Tatiana Ali and I was happy to see her in this sweet little Christmas movie/love story. It is similar to Hallmarks Christmas movies but this is apart of the Lifetime movie collection. I adored it, and I've added this to my Christmas movie collection to watch once a year. I hope to see more movies like this.